Democratic and Working Families Party candidate Matthew Titone is running for re-election for the Assembly seat he has held for less than one term. A special election for the district was called in March 2007 after the incumbent Assembly member, Democrat John Lavelle, died while in office. Titone won the special election, capturing nearly half the vote in a three-person field.
This is Independence Party Rose Margarella's third try for the seat. She ran as a Republican against Titone in 2007 and against Lavelle in 2006. Titone also has a Republican opponent - Thomas W. McGinley. Little information is available about him.
At the end of the 32 Day Pre-General filing period Titone's campaign had $6,488 on hand campaign.
At last report, Titone had $8,000 in campaign funds available, McGinley had $2,080, and Margarella had filed a no activity statement.
Assemblymember Janele Hyer-Spencer is running for re-election for the Assembly seat she has held for one term. Hyer-Spencer, a Democrat, replaced Matthew Mirones, a Republican who held the seat from 2002 to 2006. Hyer-Spencer narrowly defeated her Republican opponent in 2006, winning the election by less than 1,000 votes.
She has also been endorsed by the Independence and Working Families parties this year.
This November, Hyer-Spencer, a lawyer with an interest in family issues, faces Republican Joseph Cammarata. Cammarata sought the Republican nomination for this seat in 2006, but the nomination went to Anthony C. Xanthakis, who then lost to Hyer-Spencer in the general election. In his try this year, Cammarata has been endorsed by the Conservative Party.
Little other information is available about Cammarata, although he last reported having $15,000 in campaign funds, just $7,000 less than what incumbent Hyer-Spencer has raised. There are two-thirds as many registered Republicans as there are registered Democrats in the district.
In the 32 Day Pre-General campaign filing, Hyer-Spencer $17,255 for a total on hand of $23,822. Cammarata had contributions of $17,857 and a closing balance of $14,542.
In 2004, Jose Serrano scored a bit of a coup, toppling an incumbent, longtime member of the State Senate. His task was made a bit easier because that senator, Olga Mendez, switched from the Democratic to the Republican Party. Two years later, Serrano kept the seat.
Serrano, the son of U.S. Rep. Jose Serrano, previously served the City Council where he focused on cultural issues, including keeping libraries open, childcare and housing. He has continued those interests in the Senate and, in 2006, was appointed chair of the Senate Minority Task Force on the Arts and Cultural Affairs.
In his bid for a third term representing this district, which includes Roosevelt Island and East Harlem and extends into the Bronx, Serrano, who also appears on the Working Families Party line, faces Republican/Conservative Keesha Weiner. Little information about her was available.
At the end of the most recent filing period, Serrano had $26,779 in campaign funds. Weiner reported no contributions.